Legal Operations Lead

About the Role This is a foundational role building and owning the legal operating system at a fast-growing AI infrastructure company. You will combine hands-on contracting work with systems thinking, making legal scalable as commercial agreement volume and complexity grows. The role sits at the intersection of legal, operations, and technology. What You'll Do Own the end-to-end legal workflow, including intake, prioritization, approvals, escalation paths, document management, and outside-counsel coordination. Draft, review, and negotiate commercial agreements with buyers, data vendors, and partners, including MSAs, SOWs, data licenses, SLAs, NDAs, and vendor contracts. Build and refine contract templates and negotiation playbooks to handle recurring issues like data rights and usage restrictions consistently and efficiently. Identify and implement opportunities to automate or streamline high-volume legal workflows using software and AI, while preserving human judgment for complex matters. Establish clear decision rules for what stays internal, what can be standardized or automated, and what escalates to founders or outside counsel. Manage outside counsel relationships strategically to control spend, scope work efficiently, and reserve external lawyers for high-value or specialist matters. What We're Looking For Law degree required (LLB or equivalent; EU bachelor of law is acceptable). 5+ years of experience in legal operations, contracts management, commercial operations, or transactional legal work at a fast-growing technology company. Demonstrated ability to draft, review, and negotiate commercial technology agreements, with sound judgment on routine versus specialist issues. Hands-on experience with US commercial contracting conventions. Experience building or scaling legal operations, contract management, or deal desk functions from an early stage. Proficiency designing and implementing legal workflows, intake systems, document management processes, and approval frameworks. Comfort identifying and using legal technology platforms, workflow automation tools, and AI to scale legal work. Experience managing outside counsel, including scoping work, controlling spend, and determining appropriate escalation. Background in data licensing, IP-intensive transactions, marketplaces, or businesses where contractual rights tie closely to product functionality is a strong plus. Strong commercial judgment balancing legal risk against speed, customer needs, and business priorities. Compensation & Benefits Base salary range is $160,000 to $200,000 USD annually , plus equity and comprehensive benefits including medical, dental, and vision coverage, 401k, commuter benefits, and unlimited paid time off. Visa sponsorship and relocation support are available for strong candidates. Location On-site in the San Francisco Bay Area or Singapore .